PROTESTS OVER DELAYED VOTE LEAVE AT LEAST 17 DEAD IN CAPITAL

Street clashes between security forces and demonstrators opposed to President Joseph Kabila left at least 17 dead in Congo’s capital Monday in a dramatic sign of mounting tensions after officials sought to delay a scheduled election until next year.

Some view a delay as a way for Kabila to prolong his rule beyond the end of his mandate in late December.

“Today is a warning. He must leave by December,” protester Salomon Kaba said.

Protesters threw stones and set tires and vehicles ablaze, according to witnesses. Interior Minister Evariste Boshab confirmed that three police officers were among the dead, including one who was burned alive.

An Associated Press photographer saw at least four civilian bodies with gunshot wounds in the streets.

Government spokesman Lambert Mende called the demonstrations a pre-meditated criminal act.

“This wasn’t a demonstration at all but an attempt to unleash civil war in the city of Kinshasa,” he said.

Observers have questioned whether Congo could hold the vote as scheduled on Nov. 27. The country’s electoral commission had indicated that the voter list would not be ready before July 2017.

The commission made a request for a delay of the vote, sparking the protests.